Heading Up North for the Fourth? Northern Lights might be in sight

MLive.com File PhotoThe Northern Lights shine north of Traverse City in this file photo.

Michiganders heading north early for the Fourth of July holiday might want to squeeze some late-night stargazing into their plans, if predictions of widespread Northern Lights activity hold true.

SpaceWeather.com is reporting a massive coronal hole — a gap in the Sun's atmosphere — recently trained its sights on Earth, and has sent a burst of solar wind hurtling toward the planet.

When the solar wind connects with Earth's magnetosphere early next week, it likely will create a geomagnetic storm and, by extension, Northern Lights activity, according to SpaceWeather.

SpaceWeather is advising people high latitude locales, including the Upper Peninsula and the northern part of the Mitten, to be on the lookout for Northern Lights on July 1 and 2. Other sites indicate an equal chance of spotting the lights on July 3.